I liked a lot on that list and will give a couple of those bands more than just a casual listen in the next few days.

Good to hear. Just from observing your likes over the last year or so, I think you might like the Brandi Carlile song "Just Kids", but I don't know how much you'll like her other studio stuff. For as much as I love her, she's never really been able to capture her live performance energy on a record and trends too much towards adult contemporary with many of her recorded tracks. The bluegrassier and edgier folk/americana-ish songs are always much stronger. Just Kids is a bit experimental for her, but I think she'd be well served to play in that area more often.

Edit: Of course she did release a live CD with her playing at Benaroya Hall in Seattle with the Seattle Symphony, which includes her version of Hallelujah which is something special, in my opinion. And her live version of Folsom Prison Blues was featured on a Johnny Cash tribute CD this year.

I was surprised how much I liked most of this list. Cloud Nothings: I am already pretty familiar with the 2012 Cloud Nothings. It's very good.

First your punk oriented stuff on your list.The Men: My favorite of the punk oriented stuff. Kind of surprised me out of no where. I really liked the diverse sounds on the album, including, in particular, the country vibe in some of the songs (Candy, Country Song). I missed a show by this band called Ramshackle Glory at Garfield Artworks a couple months ago. They are on bandcamp. It is something like bluegrass punk -- they refer to themselves as "punk with all the wrong instruments." Maybe check them out?Japandroids: Really solid basically song in and song out. Nothing really stood out as a track that wowed me, though.The Orwells: Pretty good. Really liked that Halloween All Year song.Terry Malts: Definitely Ramones-ish. Okay, just don't really love that sound.

Chairlift: Enjoyable to listen to as an album, solid sound. None of the tracks really grabbed me listening to it here at work, but I will likely listen to this as an album again and hopefully something else catches my ear.Tan Lines: Liked it way more than I thought I would because I don't really care for Green Grass. Thought it was the worst song on the CD. Like the Hot Chip comparison for thse guys.Fang Island: Sort of the same as Chairlift: liked listening to the entire album/will listen again/hope something in particular grabs me.Beach House: Not sure I understand the hype on this one. Seems just "good."

Let me finally throw down most of the albums i've listened to more than in passing and add to it/cut it down as I think about it more and figure out my favorites. The vast majority have already been mentioned. Local North Carolina artists I dig are asterisked/separated and have received the majority of my interest this year.

I liked a lot on that list and will give a couple of those bands more than just a casual listen in the next few days.

That first track on the Menomena is great, i'm not sure why I kind of shrugged off the Lumineers when that came off, it's good. I'm also not sure why I was unaware the Helio Sequence put out an album...I still need to listen to that. I also liked that Shearwater track more than I thought that I would.

I liked a lot on that list and will give a couple of those bands more than just a casual listen in the next few days.

That first track on the Menomena is great, i'm not sure why I kind of shrugged off the Lumineers when that came off, it's good. I'm also not sure why I was unaware the Helio Sequence put out an album...I still need to listen to that. I also liked that Shearwater track more than I thought that I would.

I haven't liked the older Shearwater stuff as much as this last album (the first I really listened to). His voice seems to really only be suited for certain types of songs, that Animal Life song being one of them. But, yeah, Lost Coastlines is one of my favorite Okkervil songs and it was not the same live minus Meiburg.

I went to grade school with Kutchma, still talk to him here and there when he visits jtown. :fist:

I was always curious why he tours there so often. The keyboardist, guitarist and bassist in his solo touring band The Five Fifths are all bandmates with my roommate, so I've gotten into his stuff through them.

Gaucho wrote:Ok, here goes. Instead of a Top 20 of songs I included my favorite songs from the respective albums plus a few more from albums that didn't quite make the cut. Guess I don't listen to much "real" "rock" these days. Sorry for being a little excessive.

I got through most albums (at least the noted tracks on a couple). Most is not really my cup of tea. I did quite like the Fiona Apple, though. Thought The xx was okay, Dylan I think I need to be properly guided through at some point, and do like the Grizzly Bear album quite a bit.

Looking forward to the tracks listed on your list, thinking I'll like a few more of those.

Gaucho wrote:Ok, here goes. Instead of a Top 20 of songs I included my favorite songs from the respective albums plus a few more from albums that didn't quite make the cut. Guess I don't listen to much "real" "rock" these days. Sorry for being a little excessive.

I got through most albums (at least the noted tracks on a couple). Most is not really my cup of tea. I did quite like the Fiona Apple, though. Thought The xx was okay, Dylan I think I need to be properly guided through at some point, and do like the Grizzly Bear album quite a bit.

Looking forward to the tracks listed on your list, thinking I'll like a few more of those.

The XX's new stuff is meh but

the songs "Islands", "Intro", "Crystalized" and "VCR" are all being awesome to me